Frequently Asked Questions

Once an application has been received and the administration fee has been paid, within 3–5 working days Homeground will send you the price at which the freeholder would be willing to sell the freehold. This offer price is always inclusive of the freeholder’s fees and expenses and VAT (if applicable), in other words, there are no hidden extras.

Once you have received this offer price, you can:

1. Accept it
2. Make a counter-offer if you think the landlord’s offer price is too high – further counter-offers may be made until an agreement is reached.

Once agreement is reached between you and the freeholder then HomeGround will instruct the freeholder’s solicitors to formalise the matter. We may then need the contact details for your solicitor. While our clients do not require a leaseholder to appoint their own solicitor in order to complete the conveyancing stage of the transaction, if you have a mortgage, your mortgage provider may require you to appoint your own solicitor. We recommend that you contact your mortgage provider to check.

If you and the freeholder are unable to agree a price then you still have the right to buy your freehold by way of formal negotiations.

This fee covers the costs of obtaining a landlord offer price. If an agreement is reached on an informal basis, it will be deducted from the price upon completion of the transaction. It is not refundable if an agreement is not reached.

HomeGround undertakes various services on behalf of your freeholder, including:

1. Checking the terms of your lease for length and the level of ground rent payable;
2. Checking whether you meet the qualification requirements under the legislation (for example, has your property been registered to you for at least two years?);
3. Checking whether your account is in breach or in arrears;
4. Referring to recent case law, where required;
5. Obtaining a landlord offer price and preparing an offer letter setting out the price, inclusive of the landlord’s legal and administrative costs for dealing with the sale;
6. Assessing any counter-offers received from you and dealing with subsequent negotiations on behalf of the landlord.

You will receive an offer letter stating the terms under which the landlord is prepared to sell their freehold interest to you.

The offer figure reflects the value that the landlord places on their interest in the property at the time of your application and it includes:

• the price the landlord is prepared to accept outside the formal statutory process (as governed by the 1967 Act)
• the landlord’s legal and administrative costs for completing the sale.

The offer will be valid for acceptance for 90 days.

HomeGround and the landlord are only able to negotiate with the current owner of the property.

The landlord’s offer sets out the price the freeholder is willing to sell the freehold title relating to your leasehold interest for. It represents the long-term value the freeholder attributes to their freehold interest.

Since HomeGround do not represent former owners of the freehold title, we will not have been privy to any previous discussions you may have had during that period of ownership.

However, we would like to emphasise that offer figures issued on behalf of our clients are negotiable and if you feel that a previous offer was more representative of the value of the freehold you have the option of taking independent advice and of putting forward a counter-offer, which will receive due consideration.

1. There is a defined process for bringing the matter to a conclusion via the strict timetable as set out in the legislation.
2. The valuation date is fixed at the date when the notice is served.
3. If you are unable to agree terms, you have recourse to an independent arbitration process and have the option of taking the matter to a tribunal, whose decisions are binding.

1. Professional fees (e.g. for legal and surveyors’ advice) payable as part of the process are typically lower.
2. The process may provide you with a faster resolution.

This is a legal transaction between a leaseholder (the buyer) and a freeholder (the seller) that is similar in some ways to the conveyancing process when you bought your leasehold property. As it is a contractual arrangement, we recommend that you obtain independent professional advice (such as legal and/or valuation advice), as you did when you acquired your leasehold.

The information within the FAQs should give an overview of the options. If you need more information you can contact us at fhsandlex@homegroundonline.com or through the online contact form, and our team will try to help you further.

If the lease on your flat is older than 200 years, you cannot extend it.

Once a lease term falls below 80 years the premium for an extension may increase. So it is common practice for most leaseholders to extend their lease before it falls below 80 years.

If you own a house and want to extend your lease, you will need to use the formal negotiation route. There is more information on formal negotiations below.

If you meet the minimum criteria set out in the Leasehold Reform Housing & Urban Development Act 1993 you have a right to extend your lease.

Depending on what terms you are seeking as part of the extension, you can choose to enter formal or informal negotiations.

Formal negotiations will require you to obtain independent legal, and usually valuation, advice.

Many leaseholders prefer to negotiate directly with their freeholder, without following the procedures set out under the 1993 Act. This process is known as informal negotiations.